The Female Cannon Fodder With Boundless Merits-Chapter 117 - 121: Phoenix Man - This Kind of Creature (5)
Chapter 117: Chapter 121: Phoenix Man - This Kind of Creature (5)
Frustrated and leaving in a huff, Su Qing left behind all valuable items at home except for the clothes she was wearing.
The villa of the Su Family was located halfway up a hillside and usually enjoyed the fresh, suburban environment with birds singing and flowers fragrant, near the city center—a mere half-hour drive away.
But now, having to rely solely on her legs, the situation was far from pleasant.
Su Qing was sweating profusely and hadn’t yet made it down from the mountain.
Her face was flushed red, her mouth parched, and her feet ached terribly.
She had never suffered like this before, but thinking back to the disdainful look her mother had given her, she didn’t want to give in.
Biting her teeth and pushing herself, Su Qing still managed to make her way down from the mountain. Although there was a bus stop near the villa area, she had never used it.
But now, without a car and not wanting to walk, she had no choice but to take the bus.
Luckily, her luck wasn’t bad. The bus, which usually took half an hour per trip, arrived shortly after she reached the platform.
However, when she boarded the bus and reached into her pocket, she realized she didn’t have a single penny on her.
Her face turned red with embarrassment, "I, I didn’t bring any money..."
The bus driver, a kind and chubby uncle, seeing Su Qing’s embarrassed state, chuckled and gestured towards the back, "Go on and take a seat..."
With her head lowered, Su Qing mumbled a thank you, not daring to look around, feeling the piercing gazes of the few passengers on the bus on her, which was overwhelmingly awkward.
Throughout the journey, Su Qing kept her head down. As soon as the bus reached her stop, she fled as if escaping, quickly getting off the bus. Upon closer inspection, a few tear drops hung from her downturned eyes.
Having left home, Su Qing suddenly realized she had nowhere to go.
She didn’t want to go to her boyfriend’s place. She had boasted about bringing two expensive silk scarves for Zheng Zhanpeng’s sisters, but now not only did she not have the items, but also all the money and valuable possessions had been taken back by her mother.
In that moment, Su Qing felt a twinge of regret.
However, that fleeting emotion quickly faded, and she believed her boyfriend would agree with her actions if he knew the situation.
Aimlessly wandering, Su Qing found herself at the entrance of her father’s residential area.
When her parents divorced, she was just a few years old, and it had been over a decade since they last had contact. By sheer coincidence, she met her father when she was eighteen years old.
Back then, her father’s situation was truly dire.
Having failed in business and subsequently incurring a mountain of debt, her half-brother from her father’s side faced the prospect of dropping out of school. Ultimately, it was her who secretly used the money she had saved over many years to help them through the tough times.
Even the apartment they now lived in within this residential area, she had contributed a portion of the money.
"Yo, Qingqing, why are you just standing there, come on in... Haven’t seen you for days, your dad has been missing you, always mentioning you at home, even Xiao Jun keeps asking why sister hasn’t visited."
Su Qing’s father’s second wife, her stepmother Xu Baifeng, with her flamboyant sharp shouting, snapped Su Qing back to reality.
Su Qing furrowed her brows and nodded towards Xu Baifeng, addressing her with a slight sense of grievance, "Auntie."
"What happened, my dear? Who has been bullying our treasure? I’ll have your brother back you up tomorrow..." Xu Baifeng’s exaggerated expression was comically irresistible.
Anyone could hear there wasn’t much sincerity in Xu Baifeng’s exaggerated tone, but Su Qing genuinely relished this false enthusiasm.
Although Su Li and Su Fugui were very fond of their daughter/granddaughter, the Su Family typically showed restraint in their emotional expressions, the wildest display being a faint smile.
After getting to know her father Jiang Tao’s family, she realized that emotional expressions between family members could be so passionately uninhibited, and she somewhat understood her father’s choices.
A bundle of blazing fire and a lump of cold ice—by nature, people choose what benefits them.
Su Qing composed her expression and managed a smile, asking, "Auntie, are my dad and brother at home?"
"They are."
"Let’s go, let’s go. We’ll have dinner at home tonight. I bought lots of groceries, all your favorites." As she spoke, Xu Baifeng proudly showed Su Qing the groceries she had bought from the market.
"There’s chicken, fish, beef, and even large lobsters..."
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"Xiao Jun, stop playing on the computer, your sister is here, come and chat with her," Xu Baifeng yelled into the room as soon as she entered the house.
Sitting in the living room reading a magazine, Jiang Tao turned around with a gentle smile, "Qingqing’s here."
Seeing her father, Su Qing felt a sense of relief, and the gloom she felt at the Su Family had dissipated quite a bit. She sincerely smiled and called out, "Dad, I missed you so much."
Such emotional outbursts were something she could never do with Su Li, but when facing her own father, she easily expressed her inner feelings.
Jiang Tao stood up, considerately took the groceries from Xu Baifeng’s hands, and greeted Su Qing with a smile, "Sweetie, later Dad will cook my specialty dish for you."
"Okay."
Honestly speaking, Jiang Tao indeed had a handsome appearance— even past forty, he was still a graceful, scholarly middle-aged man with a well-maintained, robust physique, lacking the greasiness often seen in other middle-aged men with beer bellies. His demeanor, like a fine aged wine, lent him an air that could easily attract a few naive, innocent young girls.
Xu Baifeng, in contrast to her husband, seemed less impressive by far. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and her loose facial skin were stark reminders of the merciless passage of time.
But it was exactly for this reason that Jiang Tao’s deep affection seemed even more potent.
Su Qing, with an envious gaze, followed her father and stepmother. Even though, in her adulthood, she occasionally heard from her grandfather that the catalyst for her parents’ divorce was her father’s affair—with the "other woman" being none other than the current Aunt Xu—watching the affection between them made it hard for Su Qing to harbor any resentment.
Perhaps it wasn’t their fault; maybe their parents simply weren’t compatible.
Jiang Tao’s son, Jiang Jun, only two years younger than Su Qing, came out of his room yawning. Seeing Su Qing, he lazily greeted her, "Sis..."
"Xiao Jun, you stayed up playing games all night again?" Su Qing’s face clearly disapproved.
Jiang Jun, head bowed and showing a disdainful expression that Su Qing couldn’t see, soon lifted his head with a smile plastered across his face. He suddenly leaned closer to Su Qing, ingratiatingly saying, "Sis, could you buy me another laptop? Ju Family just released a new laptop with powerful features. Many of my classmates bought it, and it would be really helpful for my design work."
